My daughter and I found this Ken doll at the local Goodwill. Naked, balding, forlorn, and only $.99, he was practically begging to be taken to a good home. And I couldn't resist. Besides, Bunny could use a male figure to befriend her large collection of princess Barbie dolls.
So, first we Bunny bathed him. I filled the bathroom sink with a mixture of water and vinegar (Safe for children, but also disinfecting) and she lovingly bathed him for upwards of a half hour.
After wards, she wrapped him in a hand towel, and sang "Rock-a-bye Baby" to him until he fell asleep. Then she took her nap and I got to work. Since he was naked, and I'm in no position to be blowing $7.99 on store-bought clothes, I decided I'd sew him some clothing. I drafted a pants pattern, since I couldn't find any Ken doll clothes patterns online, and I sewed away. (I did not enjoy such teeny, tiny sewing)
Okay, so the pants look a little Amish or plain Mennonite, but that just means he'll fit right into the area we live in. Besides, we were watching Sleeping Beauty on the day I made these, and I'd sewn Bunny her own Princess Aurora dress earlier that morning, so I figured it could just be the beginning of a Prince Philip outfit.
You'll notice that he's bald. That can happen to you when you were born in 1983 and you're made of plastic with painted hair. So, I rummaged through our paint supplies, and found some sample paints left over from the mural I painted in Bunny's room when she was in the womb (Olympic, because it's zero voc). These little samples of latex paint have taken me though many a project, let me tell you!
I found the closest match I could to his original hair color, and I did my best.
He now has a new hair color, because my yellow didn't have enough orange in it. It's more Bunny's hair color, though, and more natural looking I think. I streaked it too with highlights and lowlights. I think he looks handsome while still keeping all of his 80s charm.
Finally, I sucked it up and drafted him a shirt. I didn't want to do it, but it needed to be done.
I was proud of the mitered corners I made thanks to a Pinterest tutorial :-D
Not so proud of the shirt, though. Menswear is tough, especially when this small! It fits him, but the neckline goes up to his chin. I haven't made a new shirt yet. This one's good enough for my Bunny, so we'll keep it until I gather up the energy to give one of my precious hours away to Ken's wardrobe.
If you open the top velcro, you'd never know it doesn't really fit! Ha ha!
ANd here's my shorter, Facebook version of this whole story, thanks to Pic Stitch, one of my most well-used iPhone apps:
Sufficed to say, Ken has grown quite accustomed to his place in the Barbie bin, with all the adorable princesses. So far, Aurora is his favorite, but that's only because he just hasn't had the time to get to know the other girls yet. It'll happen, and soon, I'm sure.
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